Precipice of Rivalry and Adoration
by puriti
Summary: Rukia Kuchiki recently enrolled in Karakura High School, much to the dismay of a certain Ichigo Kurosaki. At first, childlish strifes and pointless arguing define them but feelings of closeness begin to surface, however not without betrayal and anger.
1. Introduction

Ichigo Kurosaki shook his orange hair carelessly, his fingers treading through his head. Tatsuki was on his side, walking casually with her school bag in hand, talking amicably with her vibrant friend.

"I heard that some exchange students are coming to our school today!" Orihime chattered brightly, her facial expression openly excited. "Do you think some are going to be in our class?"

"I wouldn't doubt it, our class is pretty small right now," Tatsuki replied, mentally recapping off everyone she knew in their class. "There's Chad, Ishida, Keigo, Mizuiro… and… that's all I remember."

Orihime gave off a laugh, playfully scolding her friend for not remembering most of their classmates' names. Tatsuki huffed and waved her hand sloppily, saying that the rest didn't matter. Ichigo stayed silent through the whole chat, barely listening. His whole demeanor gave off vibes that he was tired, slouched back, dragging feet and dark bags underneath his eyes.

Although Tatsuki didn't notice, Orihime piped up. "Kurosaki-kun, what's wrong?" He slowly turned around and met his eyes with her, which was generally enough to scare Orihime, but she stood her ground, her question still hanging in the air. She always felt braver when Tatsuki was near.

"My dad thought it would be great practice for me if he kept me up all night with his 'training'," Ichigo drawled out, facing the front again with his school bag dragging along the ground. "I don't think I knocked him out until 6AM."

Tatsuki gave a hearty laugh, which was promptly cut short by Ichigo's narrowed glaring eyes. "Oh, how bad," she said dismissively, her thoughts turning to other subjects. Orihime gave a sympathetic smile, not really understanding what 'training' was. The talk soon went to what Orihime was having for lunch, which was another distasteful concoction.

Ichigo tuned them out and entered the school gates, picking up his bag, trying to look like his usual self. Orihime and Tatsuki kept chattering behind him as he strolled through the hallway, giving an angry glare to anyone who dared come near a feet of him. He nearly missed his own classroom door as he was too busy glaring.

Inside the classroom, there was a ruckus already. People were all like Orihime, excited about the prospects of exchange students and wondering if they'd be in the class. Ichigo rolled his eyes and put his bag down on his desk, too tired to care if new students join the class or not.

He rested his head on his folded arms on the table as he closed his eyes, praying for some precious shut-eye that was stolen from him last night. As soon as he felt he was drifting off, Keigo shouted out.

"Ichigo!" was the loud boom that came from his mouth. Ichigo twitched. Now not the time to bother him. "Ichigo-chigo-chi-go!" Keigo relentlessly prodded him with an eager smile on his face.

Soon, he was met with a fist to the face as Ichigo unfolded his arms and 'stretched'. Keigo fell to the floor with his hands covering his face, curses flying out of his mouth as Ichigo amusedly look down.

"Sorry, Keigo," Ichigo yawned again as Keigo sprang back up, his pained expression replaced by a happy smile. Ichigo seriously thought his body could take more punishment than a punching bag.

"That's alright! Now, I was wondering… uhhh… what was I wondering again?" Keigo pondered eyes to the sky and a finger on his chin. "Oh right! We're all going to the movies after school, would you like to come?"

"Not interested," Ichigo shot back quickly, not wanting his time for sleep to be interrupted. "Sorry, family business."

Keigo's face fell dramatically as he pretended to cry. "But if you don't come, Tatsuki won't come! And if Tatsuki won't come, Orihime won't come!"

"So?"

"I want my precious Orihime-chan to come, of course!" Keigo lowered his voice as he rolled his eyes, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Your love pursuits are none of my business, Keigo."

"But—" Keigo was cut off by the teacher opening the door, slamming it.

"Alright, everybody to their seats!" she yelled out, her voice emanating around the walls. Everybody immediately obeyed, shoving others aside as they reached their seats. Soon, the whole class was silent, readily waiting for the announcements.

"Right. As you all know, we have some exchange students coming today," an animated chatter rode through the class, but the teacher slammed her fist down on the table, silencing everyone once more. "We only have one new student joining us today, but more are coming," she spoke louder, her eyes daring anyone to talk. Ichigo sighed, putting his face to the table once more.

The door to the classroom slid open unexpectedly. A small girl with raven black hair walked into the classroom, a smile playing on her lips. She was incredibly short, with milky pale skin and a strand of hair stubbornly across her face.

"Good morning, Miss." She tilted her head slightly as her melodic voice addressed the teacher. Ichigo opened up one eye, simply to observe the new student. The teacher smiled back at her, then stood up.

"Class, this is our new exchange student, Kuchiki Rukia."

* * *

'_Christ, she's annoying,_' Ichigo thought as he listened to her sickly sweet voice introducing herself to all of his friends. Hopefully, his angry glare kept her away enough, he already had one Orihime to deal with, and he didn't need another clone. Keigo was already all over her, fawning over her apparent 'pristine beauty' and 'cute accent'.

"You have to eat lunch with us today, Rukia-chan!" Keigo breathlessly made a huge scene over her joining everybody at lunch. There was no disagreement from the female part of their group, nor the male. Ichigo lowered his eyes, his head back to the table. '_Seems like she's a hit though,_' he thought grouchily, deciding to stay silent.

"Of course, I'd be honoured to," another pretty smile came from Rukia as she started packing her books back into her desk. Keigo almost melted from it, but kept his wandering eyes on her as she started talking with Tatsuki and Orihime. Keigo knocked into Ichigo as he walked away from the girls, grinning like a madmen. Mizuiro came and joined them, his fingers clicking away on his mobile phone.

"So?! What do you think, Ichigo?!" Keigo sang out happily, his smile still wide on his face.

"She seems… annoying," Ichigo muttered, raising his head to look at Keigo.

"A-Annoying?!" Keigo stuttered out a bit too loud, the girls turned to look his way but he waved them off with a fake smile. When he turned around, his eyes were furious at Ichigo. "You can't call the exquisite Rukia-chan annoying! She has the loveliest eyes!"

"She seems cute," Mizuiro added, not looking up from his mobile phone.

"Oh god, don't tell me you're going to go after her, Mizuiro," Ichigo shot a disapproving look over to Rukia, who was still talking innocently with Orihime and Tatsuki.

"I'm into older women, you know that."

"Whatever," Ichigo stood up from his seat, grabbing his lunch from his desk as he headed towards the roof. "Meet you guys up there." Mizuiro nodded and Keigo stood still, his eyes staring hungrily at Rukia. Ichigo tapped the shoulder of Chad, who nodded also.

"I'll see you there," Chad said quietly, finishing off his classwork.

Ichigo looked over at Ishida, who was carefully placing his book back in his desk in his own complicated filing system. Ichigo rolled his eyes. He'd just have to walk up there by himself. A small feminine figure cut his path ahead of him, opening the classroom door and walking out. Ichigo followed suit, turning to go to the roof, but instead was met with a pair of violet eyes staring curiously up at him.

A silence passed between them, as Ichigo stared down at the small girl who was blocking his way.

"Kuchiki Rukia, pleased to meet you," she tilted her head in the same way and smiled prettily.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, wanting you to get out of my way," he said irritated, putting a hand on her shoulder to shove her aside. He gave her a light push, but she didn't budge like he thought she would. Instead, her eyes turned icy as she glared up at him.

"You're being rude," she said curtly, her melodious voice turning to a darker tone. "Please apologize."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"Make me, brat."

A fiery glow appeared in her violet eyes as she grabbed the hand that was on his shoulder, flipping him over her easily onto his back.

"Don't ever call me brat, kid," she said with threatening eyes, turning around to face him. "Are you willing to apologize now?"

Ichigo lied on his back, staring wide-eyed at the small girl who had just flipped his whole weight over on her back. His mouth was open, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

The classroom door slid open again, with Ishida and Chad walking out, originally chatting with each other. As they turned, Rukia immediately fell to the floor, feeling Ichigo's forehead.

"Oh no! It seems that Kurosaki-kun has fainted!" she proclaimed dramatically, the back of her hand on her own forehead now. "Are you alright, Kurosaki-kun!?"

Ishida and Chad looked at each other uneasily, then eyeing the scene. Ichigo didn't just… faint out of nowhere. Ichigo suddenly got up on his hands, his eyes level with Rukia with an angry scowl on his face.

"Just you wait, midget," he snarled at her as he attempted to grab her. Rukia smirked as she leaned back, his hand missing her by inches.

"I'm waiting, Ichigo," she said quietly, her lips smiling. Ichigo stared at her fuming as he alternated his view from her to his friends, who were standing there agape and shocked at their behaviours. He sighed heavily, and then glared at the girl, who was hardly containing her victory smile.

"Let's just go eat our lunches, okay?" she said fakely, her pretty smile still on her face as she held out a hand to Ichigo, offering to help him up. He ignored it blatantly and got up quickly by himself, as if on a race to the rooftop.

"…It, uh, seems he left his lunch here…" Ishida said awkwardly, pushing his glasses up. Chad looked at Rukia, who was starting to stand up again. Her face wore a smirk, as she stared at Ichigo rushing off to the rooftop.

"Let's just let him find that out by himself, shall we?" Rukia asked playfully as she dusted herself off. "Could you show me where the 'rooftop' is?"

Ishida nodded, walking off and starting a conversation. Rukia followed, and happily participating. Chad stood alone, staring at them as they walked off, not believing what he just witnessed. He sighed, picked up Ichigo's lunchbag and followed suit.

* * *

**a/n:** first bleach story i've ever written. i'm trying to keep everyone in-character, and improve my writing skills as much as i can.

i love the ichigo and tukia pairing a lot, so i've been having fun writing this first chapter. there will be a lot of chapters, as i have a few ideas in my head right now. i will be updating every week (a new chapter will be uploaded by sunday each week).

i don't have a beta reader, so i have to proofread everything myself and ensure that the plot and characters are on track. otherwise, i'd update everyday!

so, good or bad starting? reviews are always good, even if it's just a single word.


	2. The Fall

"What?! You don't even know how to do simple math?!" Ichigo could've laughed in Rukia's face if she wasn't staring at him with such innocent curiosity. "I knew you were too small to store anything in your head." He knocked her head with his fist to demonstrate.

Promptly hitting his fist away, she glared at him angrily. "I've never needed to learn! It's only for stupid people, such as you!" Rukia stuck out her tongue immaturely and turned back to her workbook, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to find the solution.

"Ergh, you're unbearable," Ichigo sighed, unable to watch her think so hard about a simple problem anymore. "Hand over your book, Rukia."

"I bet if I can't do it, you probably can't either," she smirked at him, enjoying seeing his annoyed face. He snatched it from her desk despite her protests of 'you're too dumb!'. Somehow, Ichigo had to be seated next to the only free desk in the whole classroom. Of course, now it wasn't free, as it was being seated by a deceptively snide girl. He furrowed his brow as he stared at her incredibly messy handwriting.

"Jesus, were you having a seizure while you were writing this?" he muttered under his breath. She glared at him murderously as he quickly printed the solution into her book. He threw the book back to her, with a small 'che'.

Rukia stared at it for awhile, as enlightenment dawned on her. "I get it now," she proclaimed to Ichigo, who was looking less than amused. "Not with your help though, dumbass."

"Obviously," Ichigo sighed at her and went back to his own work. Rukia had taken a liking to him, following him around all day. It was grating on his nerves, as all they ever did was argue. Ichigo was pretty sure he had a few bruises, despite her small stature. Continuing to finish his problems with ease, the bell rang throughout the school.

"Finally! Thank god, I don't need to see your midget ass anymore!" he announced loudly, which led to a few faces being turned.

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun, how could you say such a thing?" Rukia dabbed a tissue to her eye, as she pouted, awarding her with sympathetic smiles. Ichigo was faced with glares and angry whispers. He let out a groan of frustration as he turned away from her, packing his bag as quickly as he could. '_Manipulative… brat…_' he seethed inside, shoving his book roughly inside his bag.

Rukia let out a small laugh, another victory under her belt. She copied Ichigo, putting her book in her bag roughly, but she hardly had half as much as he did. She stood up and stretched her chair scraping back as she did. She swiftly picked up her bag, turning around to wave goodbyes to all of the friends she had made, walking out of the classroom casually. Ichigo soon followed her movements, leaving the classroom a few steps behind her.

Rukia hummed a little tune to herself as she walked along the hallways, pleased of her first day at the school. She heard distinctive shuffles behind her once she left the busy school gates, as they were now walking down a silent lane. She turned around, only to see Ichigo pointedly looking at everywhere but her. "Ichigo, why are you following me?" she stopped in her tracks and called out.

"Brat, I'm not following you," was the reply as he sped up past her. "I'm going home!"

Rukia rolled her eyes as she caught up to him, slightly jogging as his strides were longer than hers. "You don't have to keep up, you might strain your short legs," he smirked at her, his pace not decreasing.

"I'll strain you soon," she muttered under her breath, focusing on keeping in line with him. Their walk home had turned into another competition.

"Hey, Rukia," Ichigo suddenly muttered seriously, his rapid feet slowing down. Rukia looked up curiously at him, falling into line with him. "Why'd you decide to come to Karakura?"

His question was airy, like it didn't really matter. "Why not?" she replied in the same airy way he did, turning to look at him curiously. "Wouldn't you like to move to another town for a while?"

There was a moment of silence between them as they walked together, the only sound was the atmospheric wind and trees.

"No, I'd hate it," Ichigo finally decided, his gaze at the sky. "I have too many things here for me to let go, even for a second."

Rukia gave a small smile. "I felt like that before I moved here," she said quietly, scuffing the back of her shoes as she walked. "But then I found something that reminds me of something very important back at my home."

"What?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow, still not looking at her directly. "You've only been here for a day and you've found something that's 'home' to you?"

"I find it hard to believe as well, but surprisingly, I have," Rukia gave another secretive smile as she rushed ahead, slightly walking backwards as she turned to face him. "Come on, asshole, enough about me already!"

"Asshole?" Ichigo grimaced as he sped up, his threatening eyes locked on the small figure ahead of him. "I didn't even say anything that time!"

Rukia just laughed, closing her eyes. She didn't remember the last time she felt this careless. Stumbling a few steps back to stay away from his grasp, a sharp voice yelled out.

"Rukia! Watch out!"

She opened her eyes again, only to find that she had reached stairs, and she had leaned too far back to stop her fall. Her eyes widened.

"Ichigo!"

* * *

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," Ichigo muttered as he kneeled next to Rukia's crumpled form, chucking his school bag to the side. There was a trickle of blood coming down her arm, cuts and bruises were scattered over her lithe body. He immediately took off his jacket, using it to cover her body as he searched frantically for pieces of material in his bag. His hands were shaking with anxiety as all the contents of the bag spilled out onto the blood-splattered concrete.

"No… no… nothing!" he growled out in frustration as he tossed his bag away, searching through Rukia's instead. White cotton material was found along with a pattern for a summer dress. He quickly ripped the material in strips and tied it around her arm, stopping the bleeding temporarily. Ichigo was panting heavily, even though his body was in no physical pain. He hadn't remembered the last time he saw this much blood on a single person. He saw her slowly rising and depleting chest; each breath she took looked like pain.

"Need… help!" Ichigo muttered, as he carried her gingerly in his arms, running as gently as he could back to his house. The clinic was just a block away, he would get there soon. He looked down at the unconscious figure of Rukia and bit down his lower lip. '_It's my fault again that somebody got hurt…'_ he thought, the anger to himself boiling. His long strides arrived at the front of the clinic easily.

Ichigo pushed himself through the clinic doors. "Dad!" he yelled out, but the only answer was his echo. Ichigo gritted his teeth as he headed towards the clinic beds, placing Rukia in a pristine white bed. He stepped back, looking at her condition. She seemed to be stable, but his white shirt was stained with blood from her wounds. '_It's alright…she'll be okay…'_ he desperately thought optimistically, his breathing calm. Ichigo's body finally stopped shaking as he took in her form, breathing and alive.

Finding a first aid kit, Ichigo quickly got to work with applying bandages and antibacterial fluid. The work came like second nature to him since he always needed to be prepared to help his dad in his clinic work. As he worked, the optimistic thought was broken down. '_If I wasn't arguing with her, this wouldn't have happened,_' he wanted to punch himself. '_Maybe if I ran faster, or noticed quicker…_'.

Hours had passed. Ichigo had cleaned up all her wounds, stopping all the blood. Nobody had entered his house, or clinic. Ichigo sighed, wondering where his dad and sisters were. Cleaning up around the bed Rukia was lying in, he thought to move her. '_She's fine now, I think,'_ he picked her up gingerly again and walked upstairs to his room, placing her on the floor. '_Is it okay to leave her on the floor?_' he looked from his bed to Rukia, not sure of what to do.

"Well, you better be grateful, brat," he sighed as he picked her up again, and placed her on his bed. Leaving his room, he took one last look at her peaceful sleeping form and gave a small frown. "Wake up soon, Rukia."

Ichigo headed downstairs as he rubbed his forehead, sighing at all the drama he's experienced. Looking at the blood-stained bed that Rukia was laying on, a pang of guilt ran through him. He took the seat next to the bed, resting his head in both of his hands. '_This is my fault,_ _her first day in Karakura Town and I messed it up for her,_' he scowled. '_Where does she even live? Does she have family here?_'

It had finally hit Ichigo how little he knew about the new exchange student. He shook his head free of thoughts, distracting himself with replacing the bed sheets on the clinic bed. '_She probably wouldn't want to stay here anymore…_' he thought glumly. '_She's probably better off in her hometown anyways…wherever that is._'

Finishing the laundry, Ichigo headed back upstairs after hanging out the now bleached sheets. Opening his door, Ichigo was faced with an upright Rukia, looking out of the window with a blank expression. "Rukia?" he asked, a small wave of relief washing over him. '_So I hadn't injured her permanently,_' he thought as he walked over to his bed, taking a seat on the edge.

"Ichigo," she nodded, but avoided looking at him. "I'm… okay." She looked at him with a small smile. He didn't smile back, but looked to the floor. There was a moment of awkward silence between them. After she felt like a minute passed, Rukia got pissed-off.

"You have nothing to say!?" she demanded at him, her body moving gingerly to get off his bed and look at him in the face.

"Stop moving," Ichigo muttered, still staring at the ground rather than at her. He heard the movement cease behind him. Rukia crossed her arm angrily.

"You better not be feeling guilty about this. This was my fault, not yours, asshole!" Rukia stuck her nose in the air, an air of smugness around her. "If you're going to stay feeling guilty, I'm just going to go home." She made another movement to get off his bed, but was stopped by Ichigo.

"Why are you such a persistent midget?" Ichigo finally got off the bed to glare down at her. "I was planning on being nice but then you ruined it!"

"As if you can be nice, I think your face is permanently stuck in a grimace," Rukia retorted, moving to the edge of the bed. She stood up shakily, but eventually accustomed herself to her injuries and weight.

"Hey, Rukia," Ichigo said, his hands behind his head. "Where do you live?"

"Judging by what I can see outside the window, I live two blocks away from here," she replied, glancing outside the window again.

"Is your family with you here?"

"No."

"Alright," Ichigo answered, his appearance showing that he didn't really care.

"What's with all the questions?" Rukia teased, stretching her body to test her limbs. "Don't you remember last time what happened when you asked too much about me?"

Ichigo scowled at her, then turned around and opened his wardrobe, putting on a jacket to cover the bloodstains. "Come on, let's get you home, midget."

"Don't need your help getting home, asshole."

"Shut up and walk!"

Rukia smiled as she followed him slowly outside of his house, still testing her limbs. "It seems like my arm hurts more than anything else," she commented, flexing her arm experimentally.

"You should be glad you fell down short stairs," Ichigo snickered. "But then, compared to you, is anything really short?" A punch was felt on his arm with her better arm. They ended up bickering for the whole journey.

"I couldn't believe a small thing like you could get hurt… you know, I thought you'd just hide in a crack or something."

"Just because you helped me, it doesn't mean you're not a rude abrasive asshole."

"I sure wish you broke a bone or something. Preferably, in your mouth."

"You know, I could tell everyone at school that you pushed me."

"Please, if I pushed you, you wouldn't be talking right now."

Ichigo smiled at himself as Rukia didn't retort, walking forward triumphantly.

"This is the house I'm staying in," Rukia shouted at Ichigo after he walked three houses past.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?!"

"I like pissing you off," she smiled.

"You're still a bitch."

"I'm glad."

Ichigo slowly walked back, gazing at her house. It wasn't really a house as much as it was a mansion. He whistled.

"This whole place to yourself?"

"Well… I was hoping my brother could come stay sometimes, so I asked for a house with several bedrooms," Rukia blushed sheepishly at this, turning her face away from Ichigo. Ichigo shrugged, starting to walk away.

"Wait, Ichigo."

Ichigo turned around, looking at her expectantly.

"…I'm not going to thank you, fool!" Rukia ran surprisingly fast inside her house. Her laugh reverberated throughout the street.

Ichigo scowled angrily at her first, but then just turned around, walking back home. '_What a weird person._'

* * *

**a/n**: wow, that didn't take me long to write at all! thanks to everybody that reviewed on my first chapter, it really encouraged me to write more.

don't want to spoil anything, but this story will mainly focus on five to seven characters. still trying to keep everybody in character, so if you see even a tiny bit of ooc-ness, please review and tell me!

still don't have a beta reader so there may be a few mistakes or ooc-ness. because of this, i need reviews to critique my writing, or find myself a beta reader who is willing to put up with my constant updating, haha.


	3. Her Smile

"Rukia-chan!" Keigo yelled out from across the classroom as she entered, her bright cheery façade on.

"Good morning, Asano-san!" her melodious voice floated across the room, making several heads turn to her appreciatively. Ichigo was right behind her, giving her a rough push. Rukia fell forward, but caught herself before she fell. She glared daggers at Ichigo.

"Get on with it, shorty," he muttered as he walked past her to his seat. Rukia stepped over to her table, her footsteps light. Keigo approached her and Ichigo with Mizuiro behind him, still clicking on his mobile.

"Keigo wants to ask you both out to a movie," Mizuiro abruptly said nonchalantly. Keigo's face fell.

"What?! You bastard!" he roared at Mizuiro, his expression unchanged. "I was going to slowly ease it into them and trick them into coming!" Rukia gave off a fake laugh, but smiled at Keigo, who was still yelling at Mizuiro.

"I've heard about cinemas, but I've never been," Rukia stated casually, putting her school books into her desk. A silence fell over them, with Ichigo's, Keigo's and Mizuiro's stunned eyes on her. She blinked. "I mean, of course I've been!" Her fake giggle carried across the room.

"Oh, of course," Keigo ate it up immediately, his fawning eyes over her. "As it's a perfectly romantic place for a D-A-T-E!" he spelled out the letters to emphasize them, smiling suggestively. Ichigo took this moment to injure Keigo lightly in the face.

"Don't think about stuff like that, you pervert," he drawled out, flashing a glance at Rukia. She still seemed to be thinking about the idea. "I'm sick, not going." He added bluntly, turning away from her.

"Must have had something to do with your fainting yesterday," Rukia snidely quipped, her hand covering her mouth as she hid a chuckle. Ichigo made a move to grab her but Keigo had recovered from his attack.

"That's alright, Ichigo!" he sung out happily. Ichigo's eye twitched. There was definitely something wrong if Keigo wasn't crying on the floor about him not wanting to go. Keigo got on his knee gallantly and held Rukia's hand. "May we have the company of the wonderful Rukia-chan this evening, though?" his eyes seemed to sparkle with hope as Rukia stared uncertainly at him.

"I don't know…" Keigo's eyes threatened to spill with tears. Rukia stared at Ichigo, as if she was waiting for an answer, but Ichigo was pointedly looking away. She huffed. "Of course, Asano-san!" she smiled prettily at him. Keigo looked actually stared at her, surprised for a second before jumping up.

"Yes, yes, yes!" he danced around Mizuiro joyously, who had stopped looking at his phone, staring curiously at Rukia. Ichigo's face remained as a blank state, his demeanor stating that he didn't care.

"We'll see you there, Kuchiki-san," Mizuiro smiled at her, and dragged Keigo back to their seats. Keigo was still doing his victory dance, a madmen's smile on his face. Rukia gave a real smile at the comedy act, and then took her seat promptly.

"Why are you going?" he asked her indifferently, his gaze at the window.

"Why not?" she breezily replied. "Not like I'm going to be doing anything after school."

"You know, I still don't understand why you act so fake to them," Ichigo looked at her now, her dark violet eyes on him. Rukia gave a chuckle.

"Oh, I don't know what you're talking about,"

"Bullshit!"

"I guess everybody's just falling under the Kuchiki charm," Rukia gave a coy smile before diverting her eyes elsewhere, spotting Orihime looking at them uncomfortably. Rukia gave a wave to her, she jumped in surprise, but smiled back.

"Inoue-san, are you coming?" Rukia asked her as she approached their desks, still looking quite unnerved.

"Oh, yes!" she smiled happily at Rukia, giving a little bounce. "Is Kurosaki-kun coming?"

"Nope," he replied, his gaze still on Rukia, observing her little 'actress' front.

"Oh…" Inoue looked down disappointedly, but Ichigo didn't catch it. Rukia caught it though. Rukia frowned at him, who was unsettlingly stuck at observing her.

"It's alright if the asshole isn't going," Rukia started, her voice light and lips smirking. "I still am, Orihime-san."

"Yeah, instead of the asshole, you get the bitch," Ichigo snapped back, settling back down into his seat. He was hoping to catch Rukia out on the little act and point it out to Inoue, but she didn't do anything suspicio--- _'Wait! Did she just call me an asshole?!'_

Inoue was standing between them quite stunned at their last verbal battle. "Ah, uhm, I'll see you later, Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-kun." She exited their area, looking around for Tatsuki.

"You called me an asshole in front of her, dumb midget," Ichigo whispered angrily to her as Rukia stared straight ahead.

"I've gotten to know Inoue better than you probably ever will," she replied coolly, her eyes diverting to the door as it slid open and the teacher entered. "Besides, I feel more comfortable with them now."

"What, so you'll be a bitch to them soon?" Ichigo scoffed at her.

"No, only to you," she smiled deceptively at him, her gaze now on him.

"And why do I get to be your special punching bag?"

"Because you remind me of something."

Ichigo glowered at her. He was sure that an insult was about to come with her next line, so he didn't press the issue.

* * *

"So, you're going too, Ishida?" Ichigo asked, quite stunned.

"Yes, and it's Uryuu to you," the spectacled boy answered, pushing his glasses up. Ichigo scoffed at him. "Everybody is going except for you, Kurosaki."

"Whatever," Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Why's everybody suddenly going to one of Keigo's things?"

"Because Kuchiki-san is going," Mizuiro answered helpfully, sitting down with the group on top of the rooftop, opening his lunch. "Everybody wants to know her better, I suppose."

Ichigo sighed. There was nothing to 'know better' about that midget! She was rude, brash and definitely not dating material. For_ any_ guys, if they wanted to keep their sanity.

"I'm only going because the movie appeals to me," Ishida rebutted with a slight pink tinge on his face. Chad remained silent, quietly eating his sandwich.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Keigo danced around the group before falling into a free spot next to Mizuiro. His face was pure bliss. "Rukia-chan is going and Orihime-chan is going as well!" He did a small sitting victory pose, a smile visibly on his face.

"Speaking of them, where are they and Tatsuki?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Gone off to the girls' bathroom," Keigo answered, a bit too fast.

"Spying on them, Asano-san?" Ishida cleverly remarked.

A devious smile played on Keigo's lips. "Just a look, I swear!" he turned away from Ichigo, shielding his face with his arms. "Don't hurt me!"

"Cheh, why would I hit you for that?"

"You and Rukia have gotten pretty close," Keigo remarked, his gaze to the sky and his hand on his chin. "Did you trick her into being your girlfriend?"

A fist was planted firmly in Keigo's face.

"I deserved that one," he muttered as Ichigo pulled away.

"We're just friends," Ichigo stated loudly, the whole group listening to him in silence. "I don't know who would want to date that midget anyways."

Ichigo suddenly got an extremely forceful punch to his head. He immediately looked up to see Rukia glowering at him with Tatsuki giving him a disapproving glare and Orihime giggling. _'What bad timing…'_ he thought glumly as he rubbed the sore spot on his head. Ichigo stood up, not liking the height difference between them when he was sitting.

"It's the truth, shorty," he scoffed at her, the last of his sandwich promptly shoved into his mouth after.

"I'd rather be short than ugly, I suppose," Rukia maliciously retorted, her smirk wide on her lips.

Ichigo glared at her, and then made a grab at her roughly. She sidestepped it easily, chuckling. "You wish you could catch me, fool!"

An eyebrow was raised, and the chase was started.

The whole group watched in amusement as Ichigo shouted out insults after Rukia, who simply laughed and kept out of his reach. "Those two sure have gotten to know eachother well," Tatsuki smiled, her gaze returning to Orihime.

"Yeah, sure have," Orihime forced a smile, her eyes never leaving Ichigo as he chased after Rukia.

* * *

"Why… don't… you ever," Ichigo started, out of breath and panting. "Just give up?"

They had both taken a seat on the stairs, lying down messily across the steps. Ichigo was sitting several steps above, whilst Rukia made herself comfortable several steps below him. She had a small smile playing on her lips as she breathed in and out, catching her breath slowly.

"I could say the same for you," Rukia replied softly, her voice light. Ichigo smiled.

"I don't ever give up," he replied proudly. "And I don't think you should ever give up either." Rukia looked at him, surprised.

"What makes you think I would, especially up against an idiot like you?" she chuckled darkly as he shot her a glare. There was a silence between them and Rukia smiled again. "I think you should come to the movies."

Ichigo frowned. "Why?" His eyes traveled to her body, where the soft rise and fall of her chest was strangely entrancing. He looked up promptly, before she could accuse him of being a pervert, and his eyes fell into her violet-blue orbs. Ichigo blinked several times. _'She actually looks pretty when she's smiling…'_ he thought listlessly to himself as he stared at her.

"As if you haven't noticed, you slow asshole," her lips weren't smiling anymore, but she was looking at him inquisitively. Ichigo dismissed the thought of her ever being pretty and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"…Nevermind," Rukia broke their gaze and smoothed out the pleats in her skirt. "Just come."

"I'm not going to come," Ichigo muttered. "I never go to anything Keigo organizes."

"Then come because I'm telling you to," Rukia simply stated, her eyes still not meeting his. She got up slowly, her shoes scuffing the ground. "I'll meet you outside my house a hour after school ends. Don't be late, fool."

She smiled at him. Ichigo didn't know what forced him to do what he did next.

He slowly nodded and returned her smile.

* * *

**a/n:** wow, i'm so happy i got this chapter out in time! originally, i planned to have this chapter include the movies as well, but i decided to cut it in half and have the movies in the next chapter to suit the pacing.

in fact, this whole chapter is really different from the notes that i had written on it. i had planned to have ichigo and keigo have a talk, then keigo would suggest trying something on rukia, which would've angered ichigo and he would have insisted on going. i like this one better, as it is less cliched, and i need all the less-clichedness i can get, haha.

so comments? reviews? spot some ooc-ness? love it or hate it? thanks to all the reviewers who reviewed my last chapters, i really appreciate it even though i didn't reply. i'll start replying to all reviews now, so if you have a question, don't be afraid to ask!


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